You have truly caused me great suffering!

Just do it!

Chen Shao summoned several ministers from the core decision-making circle and settled the matter.

Although it was a major event that would benefit the country and its people, the officials' faces were filled with difficulty.

The investment required for this project alone will be an astonishing figure.

Dajing has only just been established, and it will be five years before it reaches its fifth anniversary in two months.

Moreover, this once again challenged people's deeply ingrained beliefs.

If such schools are established on a large scale, then in the future, the number of positions for officials will truly be divided equally with that of artisans.

Chen Shao, however, felt there was nothing wrong with it.

When Wang Anshi implemented his reforms, he proposed establishing "Law Studies" and "Medicine," which was fiercely criticized by Sima Guang and other members of the old party, who said that he was "recruiting all sorts of people and causing the moral climate of scholars to decline."

Chen Shao's advantage lies in the fact that the ministers of the Great Jing Dynasty have also seen the benefits of His Majesty's emphasis on craftsmanship.

After all, borders don't lie.

Moreover, they could not possibly ignore the tremendous achievements of craftsmanship in agriculture.

Seeing that no one spoke, Zhang Run thought to himself that His Majesty had been resolute in his attitude when the craftsmen were selected.

This time, we are determined to win.

He was the first to stand up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "This is a great act!"

Everyone looked at him, their gazes filled with various meanings. Zhang Run remained unfazed, thinking to himself, "I am originally from the Qilian Mountains, and I have nothing to do with you Central Plains people."

If I don't support Your Majesty, am I supposed to go back to herding livestock?

"The foolish Duke of the previous dynasty once established a painting academy, which brought no benefit to the country or the people, yet cost millions. Your Majesty now wishes to establish a school of crafts, not for carving and playing with objects, but to spend money on practical matters, to build the bulwark of the nation and the foundation of the army!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you and handle this matter."

Chen Shao smiled and nodded, which further encouraged Zhang Run. He looked around and seemed ready to engage in a verbal battle with his superiors.

Zhang Xiaochun, Zhang Kejian, and the others all looked at Li Tangchen, since he was a professor at the prefectural school.

Li Tangchen also knew that regardless of whether people opposed or supported him, he had to stand up and speak out.

He was conflicted, his brow furrowed, and after a moment he nodded and said, "I second that proposal."

Second?

Even Chen Shao was a little surprised.

Li Tangchen smiled with relief and said, "To be honest with my colleagues, I had many doubts about what Your Majesty said, but in the end, it always proved that Your Majesty was right. This is what Confucianism calls the interaction between Heaven and man. Your Majesty is the one destined by Heaven, and we must do our best to assist you."

Even if we are short-sighted today and cannot see His Majesty's long-term vision, there will come a day when we will suddenly realize it.

This is tantamount to using the teachings of the sages to interpret Chen Shao's actions, leaving no reason for anyone to object.

Of course, no one wanted to be the one to stick their neck out.

Li Tangchen seemed to have made up his mind and said to everyone, "This matter will inevitably face many obstacles. Since you have received the Emperor's favor, you should do your best to help His Majesty share the pressure and work together to make this national policy a success."

Chen Shao sighed inwardly once again. Li Tangchen was his second prime minister. He might not be as capable as Wei Li, but he was indeed the most suitable for him.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Run immediately felt that he had fallen behind.

From the moment he arrived, he exuded an aura of being ready to fight all his colleagues.

Li Xiang, on the other hand, aimed to unite everyone present to serve His Majesty, making the difference in their abilities immediately apparent.

Although his expression didn't betray his anxiety, he was filled with resentment, lamenting how formidable these seniors were, always managing to outshine him.

The study of officialdom is truly profound; I still have a lot to learn!

He glanced at Chen Shao secretly and found that His Majesty was also looking at him, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, His Majesty smiled and nodded, clearly mostly to encourage him. Moreover, His Majesty always called him to participate in these discussions, even though he was not qualified at his rank, which showed how much His Majesty valued him.

He felt somewhat ashamed, realizing he still had so much to learn and was determined to live up to His Majesty's kindness in recognizing his talent.

Chen Shao said, "This matter should be handled sooner rather than later. You all should do your best to handle it. If any officials object, you should all push the blame onto me. I will hide in the Hot Spring Palace and make sure they can't use their power."

Everyone burst into laughter.

In general, this small group had been won over by Chen Shao's immense prestige.

Chen Shao chose not to confront the officials head-on, but instead played along, letting them punch nothing. A conflict between the emperor and his ministers would be a very bad trend; just look at Zhengde, Jiajing, Wanli, and Chongzhen—in short, just look at their families to know.

As long as things are done well, any means are acceptable. In another ten years or so, they will know they are right, and by then, it will have become the law of the ancestors, with plenty of people speaking up for them.

If these officials really can't accept it, then they should quit.

Being an official in Dajing isn't a hot potato; if you don't want it, plenty of others are willing to take it.

If you can't change their mindset, then change the person.

Chen Shao was not one of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty; he was the founding emperor. In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, it was common for hundreds of officials to kneel outside the Meridian Gate, subtly defying the emperor. Try that during the Hongwu era!
Although this dynasty did not carry out large-scale executions and confiscations, the three major cases resulted in the exile of hundreds of thousands of people, yet they did not shake the foundation of the nation in the slightest.

Where are those noble and refined scholar-officials of the previous dynasty now?
Grazing livestock in the Qilian Mountains, carrying loads at the docks on Guangnan Road, cutting sugarcane in Taiwan—what a scene!
The founding emperor's reforms faced the least resistance because his power and prestige were unmatched by his descendants.

Recently, the imperial court has acquired a considerable amount of land in the southern wilderness, and Chen Shao is happy to exile some learned scholars to contribute to the transformation of the barbarians into civilized people.

In November, the emperor visited the Hot Spring Palace, and all the officials saw him off.

Everyone had become accustomed to it and didn't notice anything amiss.

But soon, the Dajing Daily began publishing articles by the emperor himself, all on the same theme: to establish schools.

Logically speaking, the establishment of schools should be a sign of a flourishing era of culture and education, and officials should collectively praise it.

However, this time the school does not teach poetry, literature, rites, or the Book of Changes; instead, it teaches mathematics, architecture, military science, medicine, law, and casting.

While everyone was still in the dark, the Secretariat issued an order to establish such an event in various prefectures and cities this year.

This matter will be included in the performance evaluation; those who fail to comply will be ordered to rectify the situation, and those who fail to rectify the situation twice will be dismissed.

This series of actions caught the officials off guard, and some fearless individuals began to seek out the emperor.

But since the emperor was in the hot spring palace, ordinary people couldn't see him, so memorials flew to the hot spring palace like snowflakes.

Chen Shao didn't even look at them, and had the scholars select those who criticized the new policies and list the officials who submitted the most memorials.

Those who are ranked in the top twenty will be dismissed.

Three people who used harsh words and offended the emperor were exiled to the southern wilderness along with their entire clans.
-
At the Hot Spring Palace, a light snowflake falls. An exquisite pavilion is nestled among the trees, surrounded by lush green mountains, resembling a painting.

The hot spring palace is not large in scale, but it was built with great care, especially in recent years. Each renovation has given it a different feel.

Chen Shao was initially quite pleased, believing it was all thanks to the Construction Bureau and wanting to reward them handsomely. Later, he learned that a middle-aged man had arrived at the Craftsman's Office.
This person's skill is so high that he is now being worshipped like a god by the people in the Crafts Bureau.

In fact, Chen Shao and his subordinates all deeply hated Zhao Ji.

I can't wait to make that bastard suffer more.

So Chen Shao sent him to that godforsaken place in Japan, and Wang Yin made him work in the Imperial Workshop.

But this person seems to have a cheat code; he thrives wherever he goes and is admired by many.

His only weakness was that he wasn't good at being an emperor, but now that he's lost the throne, he's invincible.

Even Chen Shao had to grumble and curse as he rewarded Zhao Ji with some money.

Because his rule has always been: merit must be rewarded.
Even if he disliked this person, Chen Shao would not break the rules; this was the foundation of the Dingnan Army's conquest of the world.

The entire Hot Spring Palace is now divided into two parts, upper and lower, according to the terrain of Tangshan Mountain. The building at the bottom is a square courtyard in the shape of the Chinese character "甲" (jia). At the top, there is a row of quiet houses and a pavilion protruding from the cliff, forming a shape of the Chinese character "丁" (ding). The middle is connected by a corridor in the shape of the Chinese character "乙" (yi), which is auspiciously associated with the numbers of the Six Ding Jade Maidens, the Six Jia Yang Gods, and Taiyi.

Emperor Huizong of Tang (Zhao Ji) was a Taoist priest and was once known as the Taoist Emperor. After he took over the management, the Hot Spring Palace also had the feel of a Taoist temple.

Others may not know, but Xiao Ting said it was good when she saw it, and felt that she could improve her skills again.

This pavilion sits atop a hot spring, facing the vast mountains. It is surrounded by three sides suspended in the air, with vermilion corridors and light yellow bamboo curtains hanging inside, with gauze curtains draped within.

The gauze curtain was as thin as a cicada's wing. From inside the temple, one could see all the scenery of the mountains. Yet, this light veil kept out all the chill that came with the north wind.

The building was warm and cozy, with steam rising from it, as if it were its own world.

Light snow fell on the eaves, rustling softly like silkworms in the wind. Inside, a white wicker mat was laid out, and a small stove sat beside it.

A stunningly beautiful woman dressed in light clothing knelt down, leaning slightly forward. With her left hand holding her right sleeve, she lifted the copper kettle on the stove and poured the contents into the ear cup on the lacquer tray.

Boiling water poured into the cup with a pleasant, soft sound, and the tea leaves unfurled one by one, revealing a bluish-green color in the porcelain cup.

Li Shishi poured tea, picked up the tea tray, placed it on the table, and then knelt down beside him, quietly watching Chen Shao handle government affairs.

Although Chen Shao was holding the memorial, his mind was not on it at all. What he was thinking about at the moment was the future development of the school.

Currently, schools are established in various state capitals, and in the future, schools will also be established in counties.

When the time is right, when we have earned enough money and our productivity has caught up, we will expand education more vigorously.

"I have never heard of a country becoming poor because of its education system."

There is still debate about who exactly said this, but it is undoubtedly true.

Only by taking it one step at a time and experiencing it firsthand did Chen Shao realize how hard-won these achievements were.

It's not that just because you have foresight and saw that this was the right thing to do, and you became emperor, you're guaranteed to be able to implement it.

Some things, even an emperor can't do if the timing isn't right.

Wang Mang is a case in point.

Being an emperor requires patience; one cannot be impatient and rash because of one's supreme power.
-
The war in the southern wilderness was raging, and the imperial court continued to send more troops.

It wasn't because the small countries here were particularly difficult to conquer, nor was it because the imperial court had too much money to spend and wanted to increase its troop transport costs.

Because the various units were so eager to fight, the imperial court had no choice but to consider their opinions.

Going to the Southern Wilderness is like getting rich.

From winter to March of the following year, the South China Sea region experiences a cool season within its dry season.

This season has less rain, fewer diseases, and is relatively cooler, with the fewest mosquitoes, making it ideal for military operations.

Especially the army from the Central Plains.

The merchants, along with the officials who went to Southeast Asia last time, have been summarizing their voyages over the years and have gained some experience with the climate.

The information regarding the direction and timing of the monsoon is quite detailed.

Inside the engineering institute, there is a room dedicated to documents on naval technology. These include nautical charts, shipbuilding techniques, celestial navigation, various compass diagrams, speed testing techniques, flag and drum formation command, and knowledge of local monsoon climates. Da Jing is mastering the rules for conquering the seas.

At least it follows a pattern of conquering the seas near Asia.

Chen Shaozhen did not give this battle much thought; it may be the only war he launched in a fit of anger after his rise to power.

A single imperial edict declared war.

So at the beginning, there was even a brief period of loss of control.

Fortunately, the Dingnan Army had great inertia, which allowed them to adjust their strategies in a timely manner according to the emperor's orders. However, the emperor himself also made certain compromises with them.

They tacitly approved of their previous actions and even rewarded them.

Since raising his army, Chen Shao has never acted arbitrarily; he has bowed his head and compromised before.

The most rigid are inflexible, preferring to break rather than bend; the most yielding are persistent, bending without breaking. True strength lies not in rigidity, but in knowing how to balance principles and reality, using gentleness to accumulate power, retreating to advance, and yielding to achieve results.

The current battle situation in the Southern Wilderness has greatly exceeded Chen Shao's previous expectations.

In his plan, the war in the Southern Wilderness should have lasted a month, with the Jing army launching a surprise attack to destroy the country, advancing all the way to Jianyili and the capital of Zhenla, beheading the enemy and returning.

But at this point, it had turned into a carnival.

Since the opening of the sea in Dajing, the massive wealth brought by it has been accumulating among the people, and now it finally has a place to be released.

As Jingjun conquered island after island, they began to busy themselves with building cities and ports, and a great reclamation was in full swing in the South China Sea.

It turns out that the people weren't unwilling to migrate; they just wanted to see if there were any benefits, and whether the gains were significant enough.

I can eat my fill in my hometown, so why should I go to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland, or to Youyan to farm?

Now I can make a fortune in the southern wilderness without the need for the imperial court to mobilize me; the migration boom along the southeast coast has already emerged on its own.

As a pioneer, Jing Jun also made a fortune as a result.

This is also why the imperial court kept increasing and sending troops; it's not the scarcity that's the problem, but the inequality!
Because of the great distance and the information gap, Chen Shao had not yet realized how outrageous the carnival in the Southern Wilderness was.

But for him, it was actually a good thing. Unlike other dynasties, Chen Shao did not try to keep the people in their hometowns or even use methods to keep them ignorant in order to consolidate his rule.

He hoped that the people would move around and occupy more land and sea beyond the Central Plains, spreading the flame of Chinese civilization to every corner.

Even if he planned and implemented it himself, he might not achieve such results. (End of Chapter)